Oil rises on fears of tighter supplies after Trump win

Oil drilling rigs

Oil prices rose today, Nov. 7, as investors weighed the implications of Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election and the possibility that his policies could reduce global supplies of the black gold.

International benchmark Brent crude was trading up 0.44% at $75.25 a barrel, at 09:22 am Makkah time. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 0.33% to $71.93 a barrel.

The increase came against the backdrop of disruption of about 17% of oil production capacity in the Gulf of Mexico as Hurricane Rafael hit Cuba, and amid risk of it reaching the US, according to a statement issued by the Department of Safety and Environmental Protection.

Moreover, investors fear that the new US President, Donald Trump, will re-increase sanctions on oil supplies from Iran and Venezuela after returning to the White House for the second term.

At the same time, Trump pledged during his last election campaign to increase his country's oil production in order to reduce fuel prices in the US.

However, gains were limited by the US Energy Information Administration data, which showed that US crude inventories rose by 2.1 million barrels during the past week, contrary to expectations.

The data indicated that US demand for oil—measured by finished products supplied to the market—fell by about 1.9 million barrels per day to 19.7 million barrels per day during the same period.